The Five Doppelgangers
The Five Doppelgangers are the five look-alike of each group member that the gang have come across during the series. They are, in chronological order: Lesbian Robin, Moustache Marshall, Stripper Lily, Mexican Wrestler Ted, and Fertility Doctor Barney. Moustache Marshall The first doppelgänger the group meets is Marshall's, dubbed "Moustache Marshall" by the group. in , Future Ted tells his children how earlier he and the group came across an advertisement on the back of a bus with a photo of a man who looked exactly like Marshall, and due to his prominent moustache they named the doppelgänger "Moustache Marshall". On the advertisement on the bus, it showed "Moustache Marshall" as a Hispanic lawyer with the slogan "Señor Justicia!" or Mister Justice. He was spotted for a second time by Barney in MacLaren's Bar during Ted's date with Jen in 2002, so it is known that he was found that year or earlier. Lesbian Robin The second doppelgänger the group meets is Robin's, dubbed "Lesbian Robin" by the group. In , Future Ted tells his children how earlier he and the group, while walking through New York City, came across a woman who looked exactly like Robin, and checking out a woman and spitting to cover it up, is why she is called "Lesbian Robin". As Robin became part of the gang in 2005, her doppelganger was found in that year or later. Stripper Lily The third doppelgänger is Lily's doppelgänger, dubbed "Stripper Lily" by the group. She is first encountered in . Barney and Marshall go to the Lusty Leopard, a strip club, and inside find a stripper who looks exactly like Lily, thus earning her the title "Stripper Lily". A man over the Lusty Leopard's gives her name as Jasmine (although this is most likely an assumed name). She speaks with a Slavic accent (and somewhat broken English) and smokes. She makes a second appearance in . Barney tries to make Stripper Lily and her boyfriend Arvydas fit into the group as a new Lily and Marshall. After a poker game, Stripper Lily and Aryvdas steal $200 from Ted, Barney, Robin and Kevin, so they decide to go to Long Island and be with Marshall and Lily. She makes an third appearance in . As shown, she marries Scooter sometime in the future. Mexican Wrestler Ted The fourth doppelgänger is Ted's doppelganger, dubbed "Mexican Wrestler Ted" by the group. Mexican Wrestler Ted: Soy el conquistador de las máquinas!! (I am the conqueror of machines!!) In , Barney, Lily and Marshall go to an awesome wrestling event and find that one of the Mexican wrestlers, once unmasked, looks exactly like Ted. Hence, the group name the doppelgänger "Mexican Wrestler Ted". Ted said his doppelgänger is the coolest. Barney's Doppelgänger Barney's doppelgänger proved to be the most elusive of the five and his spotting took on a special significance to Marshall and Lily. After Mexican Wrestler Ted was discovered, Lily and Marshall decide the discovery of Barney's doppelgänger will be their sign from the universe that they are ready to start having children. Cab driver In , Marshall and Lily spot a Barney look-alike driving a cab. To confirm that it isn't Barney in disguise, Marshall calls Barney at the office. After hearing Barney confirm that he is at work, Marshall and Lily excitedly decide its time to conceive. However, Marshall encounters the cab driver again and after thanking him, learns it really was Barney in disguise. Barney explains that the phone call was a recording designed to make coworkers think he was working when he was out picking up girls. Disappointed, Marshall returns to Lily to tell her the truth. However, he has trouble telling Lily the truth even though Lily suggests that the cabbie didn't look enough like Barney. Barney however spills the beans. Kristoff Doppelgänger Kristoff Doppelgänger was an Estonian street performer who denied any relationship with the real Barney Stinson. However, it is quite apparent that Kristoff is really Barney in disguise. After learning that Robin might move to Chicago, Barney reconsidered his belief that a baby would be a mistake and posed as a doppelgänger to convince Marshall and Lily to have a baby. This doppelgänger is proven to be a disguise of Barney when a real female Estonian street performer saw him; he looked up as to whether or not he has yet slept with an Estonian girl due to his goal of having sex with a girl from every country, then he passed out when he saw the street performer . Pretzel vendor Outside of MacLaren's Pub, Lily spotted a pretzel vendor who she believed to be Barney's doppelganger. She runs to MacLaren's and brings the gang back to the pretzel stand to show everyone. However, the rest of the gang look at the worker and see a younger man who doesn't resemble Barney at all. Despite not finding the real doppelgänger, Marshall tells the rest of the gang with a Telepathic Conversation to play along, as Lily clearly wants to see a doppelgänger enough to trick her own eyes, meaning she's ready to have kids. Dr. John Stangel Finally, Barney's true doppelgänger was encountered in : Lily and Marshall's fertility doctor, Dr. John Stangel. Both Lily and Marshall initially believe that the doppelgänger is not real and is Barney in costume once again. However, after tugging on his beard, Marshall is convinced it's not Barney. Lily remains skeptical, and the only way she will allow Dr. Stangel to examine her is with the real Barney also in the room (wearing the Sensory Deprivator 5000 so he can't see or hear anything). Barney would later attempt to take advantage of the doppelgänger by disguising himself as Dr. Stangel and suggesting Marshall join him in a doubles laser tag tournament. Notes and Trivia *Whether Tracy has a doppelgänger or not is unknown. *Robin, Ted, and Lily have three fake doppelgängers in Marshall's story in as the masters of slapping: Red Bird, The Caligrapher and White Flower (respectively). *In while Barney is talking about The Cheerleader Effect as he looks through the group of girls and guys, the last individual looks like Marshall, so Marshall possibly has 3 doppelgängers. *Moustache Marshall appears to be the only one of the doppelgangers to have the same occupation as their counterpart. *The fact that Barney's doppelganger is a doctor may be an in-joke referring to Neil Patrick Harris's earlier television role as the teenage doctor in . *Lily's doppelgänger is the one seen most in the show. Category:Recurring Elements Category:Recurring characters Category:LGBT